Downtown Stadium Deal With L.A. Could Take One Year (at Least), Says City Hall Legislative Guru Gerry Miller
This winter the downtown stadium plan was plowing ahead like Republicans at a tax-break buffet. Well, so much for the fast track. This is, as you're well aware, the most-business-friendly city in the world (we kid).
NFL Are you ready for some ... waiting?
And well, L.A.'s chief legislative analyst, Gerry F. Miller, says in a recent memo (PDF) to the city's stadium committee that approvals for the NFL venue could take a year.
On top of that ...
... the NFL is in a contract standoff with its players. And, it seems, no deal will be done to get a team to L.A. unless the players' contract is resolved first.
AEG A vision of a downtown NFL stadium.
Leaders at Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the company that owns Staples Center and wants to build a stadium on city land next door, have pretty much said this thing ain't happening without a team.
So what do we have here? At least a year's worth of waiting, seems to us.
Miller says "definitive agreements" between the city and developers would take "will be
completed concurrently with completion of the EIR and forwarded to your Committee and the Council for consideration, approximately 12 months from now."
He also writes that debt service on city bonds that would allow AEG to tear down and redevelop the L.A.-owned Convention Center West Hall as a stadium and convention space would run $25 million a year.
While AEG has stated it will cover that amount and not a penny of taxpayer money would go to the development, Miller recommended that ...
... any tax revenues used to support bonds issued to construct Pico Hall shall be from demonstrated net new tax revenues generated by the development and shall not come from existing General Fund revenues.
You know, just in case.
He's also recommending that the city force AEG to perform an environmental impact review, even though the company was rumored to be seeking an exemption to some EIR requirements.
The company has stated its EIR process has begun.
[Spotted at City Maven].
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